Schnurr, Noelia-Sarah (2012) From hope to betrayal : emotional antenarratives during mergers and acquisitions. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Research output not available from this repository.

Request-a-Copy directly from author or use local Library Get it For Me service.

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

In this thesis I study the construction of a merger and acquisition (M & A) process
through emotional antenarratives. This builds on recent research in the M & A field,
which has called for a more thorough understanding of emotions during M & A
processes. After reviewing current literature on emotions as well as emotions in M &
A processes I point to a gap in understanding how emotional experiences, as present
in the organisation, shape the M & A process over time. I suggest that a narrative
perspective is particularly well suited to study emotional experiences present in the
organisation since organisations have often been conceptualised as storytelling
systems. Narratives, which refer to accounts of experiences, give insights into
emotions and construct M & A processes by shedding light on the sensemaking
processes reflected in the narratives that are told. I consider several different
approaches to narrative study, concluding that an antenarrative approach, which
focuses on the fragmented narratives before narrative closure is achieved, is
particularly well suited to studying storytelling during M & A, since storytelling
during M & A is often fragmented and rarely coherent and since antenarratives give
rich insights that are often lost in full narratives. I further point out that whilst recent
work has started to appreciate the importance of antenarratives during M & A
processes, no work has looked at the emotional dimension of antenarratives. In order
to fill both of these gaps, I study emotional antenarratives over time during M & A,
conceptualising emotional antenarratives as accounts of experiences with an
emotional dimension. In a longitudinal empirical study of a company undergoing a
merger I examine the way in which these emotional antenarratives construct the M &
A process over time from hope and promise through to critique to nightmare towards
betrayal. I do this by studying the characteristics of the emotional antenarratives. I
suggest that this progression is due to employees making sense of the merger as
breach of a psychological contract into which they have emotionally invested and
committed to. My findings allow me to contribute to literature on M & A as well as
M & A and emotions by showing how emotional experiences present in the
organisation shape and construct the M & A process. I further contribute to literature
on M & A and storytelling by showing the role the emotional dimension plays in
evolving M & A processes. I finally contribute to work on psychological contract
theory and work on emotional investment by showing their role in the M & A
process.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Consolidation and merger of corporations -- Psychological aspects
Official Date:	May 2012
Dates:	Date Event May 2012 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Warwick Business School
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Spicer, André ; Brown, Andrew
Extent:	344 leaves
Language:	eng

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item